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Fault Characterization of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel Simon Araya

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

  • Fan Zhou

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

  • Simon Lennart Sahlin

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

  • Sobi Thomas

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

  • Christian Jeppesen

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

  • Søren Knudsen Kær

    (Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark)

Abstract

In this paper, the main faults in a commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack for micro-combined heat and power ( μ -CHP) application are investigated, with the scope of experimentally identifying fault indicators for diagnosis purposes. The tested faults were reactant starvation (both fuel and oxidant), flooding, drying, CO poisoning, and H 2 S poisoning. Galvanostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were recorded between 2 kHz and 0.1 Hz on a commercial stack of 46 cells of a 100- cm 2 active area each. The results, obtained through distribution of relaxation time (DRT) analysis of the EIS data, show that characteristic peaks of the DRT and their changes with the different fault intensity levels can be used to extract the features of the tested faults. It was shown that flooding and drying present features on the opposite ends of the frequency spectrum due the effect of drying on the membrane conductivity and the blocking effect of flooding that constricts the reactants’ flow. Moreover, it was seen that while the effect of CO poisoning is limited to high frequency processes, above 100 Hz, the effects of H 2 S extend to below 10 Hz. Finally, the performance degradation due to all the tested faults, including H 2 S poisoning, is recoverable to a great extent, implying that condition correction after fault detection can contribute to prolonged lifetime of the fuel cell.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Simon Araya & Fan Zhou & Simon Lennart Sahlin & Sobi Thomas & Christian Jeppesen & Søren Knudsen Kær, 2019. "Fault Characterization of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:152-:d:194509
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pei, Pucheng & Chen, Huicui, 2014. "Main factors affecting the lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells in vehicle applications: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 60-75.
    2. Sutharssan, Thamo & Montalvao, Diogo & Chen, Yong Kang & Wang, Wen-Chung & Pisac, Claudia & Elemara, Hakim, 2017. "A review on prognostics and health monitoring of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 440-450.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Francesco Piraino & Petronilla Fragiacomo, 2020. "Design of an Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy-Based Control in Relation to the Passenger Number for a Fuel Cell Tram Propulsion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Li, Na & Cui, Xiaoti & Zhu, Jimin & Zhou, Mengfan & Liso, Vincenzo & Cinti, Giovanni & Sahlin, Simon Lennart & Araya, Samuel Simon, 2023. "A review of reformed methanol-high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    4. Weiwei Huo & Weier Li & Chao Sun & Qiang Ren & Guoqing Gong, 2022. "Research on Fuel Cell Fault Diagnosis Based on Genetic Algorithm Optimization of Support Vector Machine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Samuel Simon Araya & Sobi Thomas & Andrej Lotrič & Simon Lennart Sahlin & Vincenzo Liso & Søren Juhl Andreasen, 2021. "Effects of Impurities on Pre-Doped and Post-Doped Membranes for High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Stacks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Walter Zamboni & Giovanni Petrone & Giovanni Spagnuolo & Davide Beretta, 2019. "An Evolutionary Computation Approach for the Online/On-Board Identification of PEM Fuel Cell Impedance Parameters with A Diagnostic Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    7. Antonio Guarino & Giovanni Petrone & Walter Zamboni, 2019. "Improving the Performance of a Dual Kalman Filter for the Identification of PEM Fuel Cells in Impedance Spectroscopy Experiments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, September.
    8. Nicu Bizon & Valentin Alexandru Stan & Angel Ciprian Cormos, 2019. "Optimization of the Fuel Cell Renewable Hybrid Power System Using the Control Mode of the Required Load Power on the DC Bus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, May.

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